Water Breaks
"Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you," I Kings 19:7
In my previous post, I made the admittedly crude parallel between running a marathon and Lenten discipline. I'll stretch that connection a little more now. Marathons have built in water and aid stations. Every 2 or 3 miles there's be a water station, and there will normally be several water stops that also have first aid available for the inevitable runners who get injured. Brief, but regular opportunities to replenish are essential. The journey is too great to complete without them.
I can't help but think of the great prophet Elijah, who must be the patron saint of runners. He had outrun King Ahab's chariot from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel. Then, when confronted by Jezebel's threats to lop off his head, he ran again. From Jezreel in the very northern part of the northern kingdom of Israel he ran all the way to Beersheba, near the southernmost part of southern kingdom of Judah. Leaving his servant at Beersheba, he set off across the desert to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God. After a full day's trek across the desert, he fell faint and asked to die, and eventually went to sleep. An angel later woke him to say, "arise and eat" and Elijah saw bread baking on hot stones and a jar of water. After eating he slept some more, and again the angel woke him up saying, "arise and eat for the journey is too great for you." This second time there was also fresh bread and water. On that strength he continued the 40 day journey to Horeb where he met the Almighty.
We now are about one third of the way through Lent. How has your devotional life been so far? Have you been able to sustain your Lenten discipline? I do sincerely hope that you have added something in during Lent such as added prayer time, personal devotions, personal reading of scripture, some regular service; not merely subtracted something. If you have found that it is difficult to maintain, that's not unusual and it's not the end of the world. If you are like Elijah and feel like the journey is too great, take heart, there are built in water stops along the way in Lent. By church tradition Sundays aren't counted as part of Lent. This is indeed a journey, but not one without breaks. The purpose of this isn't for us to have a break though, like water stops in a marathon. Each Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, and how can one fast on a celebration day, a feast day? The whole reason the Christian church began gathering for worship on Sundays in the first century was as a way of celebrating resurrection.
A wise man who mentored me as I trained for my first marathon twenty years ago told me to never skip a water stop in the first part of the race. They are there for a reason. Do indeed celebrate this next Sunday. This is reminiscent of Jesus telling the Pharisees who asked why his disciples didn't fast, "how can you mourn while the bridegroom is here." How can one fast on a day of celebration? Let this Sunday be a Sabbath for you, a rest if you will, from your occupation, but also from whatever acts of abstinence you have undertaken for Lent. Use it as a water stop along the way to fill yourself and drink deeply as if an angel truly is saying, "arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you."
In my previous post, I made the admittedly crude parallel between running a marathon and Lenten discipline. I'll stretch that connection a little more now. Marathons have built in water and aid stations. Every 2 or 3 miles there's be a water station, and there will normally be several water stops that also have first aid available for the inevitable runners who get injured. Brief, but regular opportunities to replenish are essential. The journey is too great to complete without them.
I can't help but think of the great prophet Elijah, who must be the patron saint of runners. He had outrun King Ahab's chariot from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel. Then, when confronted by Jezebel's threats to lop off his head, he ran again. From Jezreel in the very northern part of the northern kingdom of Israel he ran all the way to Beersheba, near the southernmost part of southern kingdom of Judah. Leaving his servant at Beersheba, he set off across the desert to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God. After a full day's trek across the desert, he fell faint and asked to die, and eventually went to sleep. An angel later woke him to say, "arise and eat" and Elijah saw bread baking on hot stones and a jar of water. After eating he slept some more, and again the angel woke him up saying, "arise and eat for the journey is too great for you." This second time there was also fresh bread and water. On that strength he continued the 40 day journey to Horeb where he met the Almighty.
We now are about one third of the way through Lent. How has your devotional life been so far? Have you been able to sustain your Lenten discipline? I do sincerely hope that you have added something in during Lent such as added prayer time, personal devotions, personal reading of scripture, some regular service; not merely subtracted something. If you have found that it is difficult to maintain, that's not unusual and it's not the end of the world. If you are like Elijah and feel like the journey is too great, take heart, there are built in water stops along the way in Lent. By church tradition Sundays aren't counted as part of Lent. This is indeed a journey, but not one without breaks. The purpose of this isn't for us to have a break though, like water stops in a marathon. Each Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, and how can one fast on a celebration day, a feast day? The whole reason the Christian church began gathering for worship on Sundays in the first century was as a way of celebrating resurrection.
A wise man who mentored me as I trained for my first marathon twenty years ago told me to never skip a water stop in the first part of the race. They are there for a reason. Do indeed celebrate this next Sunday. This is reminiscent of Jesus telling the Pharisees who asked why his disciples didn't fast, "how can you mourn while the bridegroom is here." How can one fast on a day of celebration? Let this Sunday be a Sabbath for you, a rest if you will, from your occupation, but also from whatever acts of abstinence you have undertaken for Lent. Use it as a water stop along the way to fill yourself and drink deeply as if an angel truly is saying, "arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you."
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